Meeting Speaker for May 19, 2015
Posted
on May 14, 2015
Michael Ziegler
PRIDE was founded in 1966 in the basement of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Auburn, California, by a group of parents who wanted to provide jobs for their young adult children with disabilities. Since joining PRIDE in 1983, Ziegler has led the transformation of the company from a non-profit organization dependent on federal and state funds to a self-sufficient business enterprise providing services to Fortune 500 companies and government customers nationwide. During Ziegler’s tenure, PRIDE has grown from a small organization--65 employees and a $250,000 budget–to the Sacramento region’s third largest manufacturing and service company with more than 5,000 employees and $260+ million in annual revenue. PRIDE is the largest non-profit employer of people with disabilities in America.
Ziegler attended San Francisco State University and completed his MBA at the University of San Francisco. He is a graduate of the Stanford Small Business Executive Program. Ziegler received an Honorary Ph.D. from Golden Gate University.
When asked what he considers his major accomplishments, Ziegler points to the many quality jobs PRIDE helps create for people with disabilities. PRIDE’s annual payroll for employees with disabilities exceeds $95 million dollars. Many of these employees were formerly on taxpayer assistance and are now taxpayers themselves. Ziegler is extremely proud of the “incredible and talented group of people who work at PRIDE.” With business and community partnerships and dedicated employees leading the way, PRIDE continues its frenzied pace to create jobs for people with disabilities.